Trump calls NATO allies 'cowards' over refusal to join Strait of Hormuz security force

US President Donald Trump ruled out reaching a ceasefire agreement with Iran, saying Washington has the upper hand in the three-week-old war.

"I don't want to do a ceasefire. You know you don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side," Trump told journalists at the White House.

He also commented on plans to have US forces further target Kharg Island in Persian Gulf, which is vital to Iran’s oil network.

He responded, “I may have a plan I may not” but said he wouldn’t tell reporters one way or the other.

“It’s certainly a place that people are talking about. But I can’t tell you that,” Trump added.

Trump said that Iran “from a military standpoint, they’re finished” but they’re “clogging up” the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said it would be a “simple military maneuver” to keep the vital shipping lane open but it requires help, which he described as “ships” and “volume.”

He said “it would be nice” if the countries that rely on the strait would get involved in helping to keep it open.

Turkey lashed out at Israel for striking army camps in southern Syria, urging the international community to intervene.

"We view Israel's attack targeting military infrastructure in southern Syria as a dangerous escalation and strongly condemn it," a foreign ministry statement said, urging the international community "to stop the Israeli attacks".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is "putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran."

In a post on X, he wrote that the "majority of the British People do not want any part in the Israel-US war of choice on Iran." He added that Iran would "exercise its right to self-defence."

It comes after the UK government announced it had authorised the use of its military bases for the US to carry out strikes on Iranian sites attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US ambassador to Lebanon hailed the Lebanese president's proposal to launch direct negotiations with Israel to put an end to the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah.

"We appreciate the importance of the issue for the president and the importance of his responsibility in finally deciding that he must meet with the Israelis, because matters are not resolved without talking," Michel Issa told journalists following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in Beirut.

"Each party has their point of view of how meetings start," he said, however adding that he believed Israel "has decided not to stop" striking Lebanon yet.

"That means Lebanon has to decide whether it can meet the Israelis in this case," he said.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun proposed direct talks with Israel on 9 March, but Israel has since said there are no talks planned.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke with Lebanese leaders last week, expressed hope on Thursday that Israel would agree to direct talks with Beirut, and offered to host talks in Paris.

US media is reporting that the country plans to deploy additional Marines to the Middle East.

The Wall Street Journal said Washington is deploying between 2,200 and 2,500 Marines from the California-based USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

CNN meanwhile said thousands of Marines and sailors were expected to deploy to the Middle East. Both publications cited anonymous US officials.

Asked about the reports, the Marine Corps said the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are "deployed at sea," while US 3rd Fleet said they are "conducting routine operations."

A week ago, US media reported a separate deployment to the Middle East of some 2,500 Marines aboard as many as three ships.

The UK has auhtorised the use of its military bases for the US to carry out strikes on Iranian sites attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

A statement from Downing Street said British ministers "confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz."

The agreement expands the previously agreed to conditions for use of its bases, which stated that American forces could use British bases for operations to prevent Iran firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.

Earlier, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his British counterpart Yvette Cooper in a phone call that any US use of British bases would be seen as "participation in aggression" against the Islamic Republic.

It was not clear when the call with Cooper took place.

Syria’s foreign ministry condemned strikes launched on Friday by Israel on military infrastructure in southern Syria.

Israel had said it was acting to protect members of the Druze minority after attacks by government forces.

The foreign ministry said Israel was acting on “flimsy pretexts and fabricated excuses” in a “continuation of its policy of interference in internal affairs with the aim of destabilizing security and stability in the region.”

No casualties were reported from the strikes.

A British naval expert says it’s “fanciful” to try to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while fighting still rages.

US President Donald Trump has criticised other countries for failing to send naval ships to unblock the key oil route, which has been effectively shut by Iran.

But Retired Royal Navy Commodore Steve Prest said on Friday that “the idea that you could force the strait, even with significant warships and firepower, against a determined enemy…is fanciful.”

To restore shipping, “you have to come to a ceasefire. The fighting has to stop and then you can create the necessary conditions of security.”

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Friday that Iranians had dealt a "dizzying blow" to the country's enemies during the war with Israel and the United States.

By showing unity and resolve, Iranians had "dealt him (the enemy) a dizzying blow so that he now starts uttering contradictory words and nonsense," Khamenei said in a written message for Persian New Year.

He also said Iran and allied forces in the region were "in no way" behind attacks on Oman and Turkey.

Israel continued its intense strike campaign against the Iranian regime's security forces on Friday by killing the spokesman of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ali Mohammad Naini, the intelligence chief and deputy commander of the Basij forces, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam as well as the commander of the IRCG Aerospace Force, Mehdi Ghorishi, the Iranian media and Israel’s Defence Forces announced on Friday.

Now Israel is getting help from ordinary Iranians who are rising up against the regime.

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Drone attacks hit Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery on Friday, causing several fires but no casualties, state media said, citing the national oil company.

"The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery...was subjected early today to several hostile drone attacks, causing fires in some of its units," the official Kuwait News Agency said, adding that "several refinery units were shut down."

The Kuwaiti army later said that the fire was brought under control without any casualties.

"Two drones targeted one of the units in a refinery of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, resulting in a fire that was brought under control by the specialised teams, without any injuries," it said on X.

Israel's foreign ministry on Friday accused Iran of an "attack on the holy sites" of Jerusalem after an impact near the walls of the Old City following a missile warning.

"The Iranian attack on the holy sites sacred to all three religions reveals the madness of the Iranian regime, which claims to be religious," Israel's foreign ministry wrote on X, calling it an "Iranian gift" for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.

It was unclear whether the impact was from a missile or was caused by an interception.

Smoke was seen rising from an impact site near the walls of Jerusalem's Old City on Friday, Israeli television showed, after journalists heard loud blasts following a warning of Iranian missiles.

Israeli media showed footage of a crater in a road that appeared to be close to the Jewish and Armenian quarters of the historic Old City.

Israeli police said they were "conducting searches to locate the impact sites of weapons and munitions or interception fragments within the Jerusalem District."

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group says it fired salvos of rockets and drones that struck Israeli military positions and towns and villages including Kiryat Shemona, Hanita, Avivim, Ramot Naftali and Shlomi.

The Iran-backed group’s statement on Friday also said that its fighters attacked a group of Israeli soldiers inside the Lebanese town of Khiam, the scene of intense fighting over the past days.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on a visit to Israel on Friday that Iran must make major concessions as part of any long-term political solution following the war.

"Whatever the outcome of the ongoing military operations, it must be complemented by a political solution that produces lasting results," Barrot told journalists in Tel Aviv.

"In this regard, the Iranian regime must be prepared to make major concessions, a radical change of stance."

Barrot repeated a European call for a moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure after an Israeli bombardment of Iran's key gas field pushed up energy prices.

Iran's military threatened on Friday to hunt down officials and army commanders from the United States and Israel even while they were vacationing or visiting entertainment centres.

"We are watching your cowardly officials and commanders, pilots and wicked soldiers," armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi said, quoted by state TV.

"From now on, based on the information we have on you, the promenades, resorts and tourist and entertainment centres in the world will not be safe for you either."

The NATO mission in Iraq has temporarily withdrawn from the country, two Iraqi security officials said on Friday, citing the impact of the war in Iran.

"There is no disagreement" with the Iraqi government, one official told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

"It's a temporary withdrawal. They are worried because of the situation," he added. Another official said "the entire NATO mission has withdrawn", except for a small number of personnel.

The NATO mission is headquartered in an Iraqi military base in Baghdad's Green Zone near the US embassy, which since the start of the war has been targeted multiple times.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Friday a €5 billion package aimed at offsetting the economic impact of the Middle East conflict, including a "drastic reduction" in energy taxes.

The package's 80 measures will include cuts to the value-added tax on gas and fuel, which could lower prices at the pump by up to 30 cents per litre, he told a news conference after an emergency cabinet meeting.

Switzerland said on Friday it will not authorise the export of war materiel to the United States during the Iran war, in line with its long-standing principle of military neutrality.

"The export of war materiel to countries involved in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict," the government said in a statement.

"Exports of war materiel to the USA cannot currently be authorised," and existing US licences will now face regular review, it said, whilst adding that Switzerland has not issued war materiel export licences to Israel or Iran for years.

President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that France would press ahead with its efforts to back Ukraine, speaking after the country's navy intercepted an oil tanker sailing from Russia.

"We are staying the course," Macron said on X. "The war in Iran will not deter France from supporting Ukraine, where Russia's war of aggression continues."

Police in the United Arab Emirates said on Friday they had arrested over 100 people for filming and posting "misleading" information during the war, as Gulf countries crack down on footage and posts related to Iran's attacks.

"Abu Dhabi Police announced the arrest of 109 individuals of various nationalities who filmed sites and incidents and circulated incorrect information via social media platforms during current events," it said in a statement on X, adding that some of the people had shared "misleading information."

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has warned the Syrian government against using the war as a cover to harm Syria’s Druze community, after Israel’s military said on Friday it had struck sites in the Suweyda area in response to what it said were attacks against the Druze.

There was no immediate word on casualties and Syrian state media has not commented or reported on the Israeli strikes. It wasn’t immediately clear when the strikes took place.

“We will strike with even greater force,” Katz said.

Activist groups in the Druze majority province said that skirmishes have taken place between armed Druze groups and Syrian government forces in the past two days.

Iranian-linked facilities in Dubai have been closed as the Iran war has seen the United Arab Emirates repeatedly targeted by Iranian fire.

The Iranian Hospital, opened in 1972 under the shah in Dubai, was closed on Friday and its website was down and its phone number disconnected.

The Financial Times, which first reported the closure, quoted an anonymous Emirati government official saying institutions “directly linked” to Iran would be closed after being “misused to advance agendas that do not serve the Iranian people and in violation of UAE laws.”

The Iranian Club in Bur Dubai earlier wrote on Instagram it would close “due to the current circumstances.”

The UAE’s State Security Department announced it had arrested members of a “terrorist network,” claiming that it was funded and operated by Iran and Hezbollah.

Authorities say the network has been operating in the UAE under the cover of a fictious business entity with the aim of disrupting the UAE’s economy and financial stability, through money laundering and “terrorist financing.” 

Israel's military said on Friday it was launching strikes in Iran's Noor region on the shores of the Caspian Sea, as it kept up its bombing campaign after almost three weeks of war.

"The IDF has begun striking targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime," the army said in a statement.

The fresh strikes come after Israel's military said on Thursday its jets had hit several Iranian naval vessels in the Caspian Sea.

The United States and Israel struck 16 Iranian cargo vessels in port towns in the Gulf on Friday, local media reported, saying the ships were burnt.

"Following the...air attack, at least 16 cargo vessels belonging to citizens of the towns of Bandar Lengeh and Bandar Kong were completely burnt in the fire," a local official from the southern Hormozgan province said, quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his British counterpart Yvette Cooper in a phone call that any US use of British bases would be seen as "participation in aggression" against the Islamic republic.

It was not clear when the call with Cooper took place.

"These actions will certainly be regarded as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries," said Araghchi, according to a statement released on Friday by the foreign ministry.

Europe’s stance on the Iran war risks US President Donald Trump walking away from the conflict in Ukraine, his former national security advisor, John Bolton, has said, criticising the EU’s reaction to the situation in the Middle East.

In an interview with Euronews, Bolton, who also previously served as the US’ ambassador to the UN, branded the Iran conflict as “Europe’s war.”

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Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Friday that US-Israeli strikes had killed their spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini.

Naini "was martyred in the criminal cowardly terrorist attack,” the IRGC said in a statement on their Sepah News website.

Before his death, Naini issued a statement insisting Tehran was still able to build missiles despite the attacks coming from Israel and the United States.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei called on Friday for enemy nations to have their “security” taken away, his latest message to the public.

Khamenei made the remarks in a statement issued on his behalf to President Masoud Pezeshkian after Israel killed Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.

Khamenei hasn’t been seen since he was named as supreme leader, succeeding his father, the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war on 28 February.

There have been growing comments from American and Israeli officials that Mojtaba Khamenei was hurt in the war.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that the Islamic republic has continued to produce missiles despite the war with Israel and the United States.

"Our missile industry deserves a perfect score...and there is no concern in this regard, because even under wartime conditions we continue missile production," Guards spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini said, quoted by the Fars news agency.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium and manufacture ballistic missiles."

The Israeli military said it struck infrastructure belonging to the Syrian government in response to attacks on Druze civilians in Sweida in southern Syria.

Syria's state media has not yet acknowledged the attack.

Israel has previously intervened in Syria, saying it was acting to protect the Druze minority.

Qatar said it reduced its export capacity of liquefied natural gas by approximately 17% after Iran struck its Ras Laffan energy facility.

The strike caused extensive damage, which is estimated to take up to five years to repair.

Iran intensified its campaign against energy facilities across the Gulf, including sites in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the key gas hub in Qatar, following Israel's attack on Iran's main natural gas field on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would hold off launching further attacks on Iranian gas fields following a request by US President Donald Trump.

"Fact number one, Israel acted alone against the Asaluyeh gas compound. Fact number two, President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks and we're holding off," Netanyahu said at a press conference last night.

The Israeli leader also suggested that the war will end "a lot faster than people think," while rejecting claims that it dragged the US into the war with Iran.

"Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do? come on," he said.

Several explosions were reported across Tehran as Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes on Tehran following Iranian attacks at Israel overnight.

Drone attacks struck Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery, sparking multiple fires but causing no casualties, according to state medai citing the national oil company.

The oil facility, which can process around 730,000 barrels of oil per day, already came under an Iranian attack and sustained damage on Thursday.

Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery is one of the three refineries in the country.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry also reported that a fire erupted Friday morning after drone shrapnel fell on a warehouse.

Meanwhile, Emirati authorities said air defences were responding to missile and drone attacks early this morning.